As Schools Open, Avon Sees Unexpected Enrollment Increase

School buses and cars are backed up near Avon Middle School on the first day… (Ken Byron )

August 28, 2014|By KEN BYRON, kbyron@courant.com

AVON — Newcomers are a fact of life for educators in the opening days of school. But on the first day of classes Thursday, teachers and administrators saw more of them than they have for the past several years.

Bucking a trend since 2010, the town's schools recorded an increase in enrollment when classes started.

The official enrollment will not be set until Oct. 1, but according to estimates presented to the board of education, 3,326 students were expected for the opening of school. That is an increase of 1 percent from the year before, Superintendent Gary Mala said.

The increase in enrollment was one of the more notable aspects of what school officials described Thursday as a good school opening.

"I could not have scripted a better opening day at the building level," Mala said. "It was a smooth opening and I saw a great spirit of enthusiasm among students and staff."

Thursday was also the first day for the district's new bus provider, Specialty Transportation. School officials reported some buses being late and missing stops. Mala said the delays in getting students to Pine Grove School were particularly significant. He and Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations John Spang said they were not surprised by the bus issues, but will work with Specialty to address them.

"We are asking parents to be patient," Mala said. "Specialty is working with us and the routes will be refined."

A long-range study of enrollment done by a consultant two years ago projected a steady decline in the number of students in town schools. The highest enrollment in the past 12 years was in the 2007-08 school year, when there were 3,600 students. Every year since then has seen a decline, except for the 2009-10 year, when enrollment went up by slightly less than 1 percent.

Mala said the consultant had anticipated 3.2 percent fewer students for this school year, which would have been the biggest drop since the decline started. Instead, students were signed up for the town schools in unexpected numbers during the late summer, Mala said. That trend continued up till the last moment, and Mala said four more children signed up Wednesday.

Mala said he and his staff study things such as house construction and sales to help anticipate enrollment. But he said the uptick in the number of students this year caught him by surprise.

"I really can't speculate as to why," he said. "Avon is a nice community with an excellent school system. There is a projection of a decline in the number of school-aged children nationwide, but we have not seen it this year."

Much of the new enrollment has been in kindergarten and first grade and this prompted school officials to hire four additional teachers during the summer. Two kindergarten teachers and one for first grade were hired for Pine Grove School along with a kindergarten teacher for Roaring Brook School.